


Reinvention

by ShadowoftheLamp



Category: Generator Rex
Genre: Family, Gen, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-29
Updated: 2017-05-18
Packaged: 2018-07-18 22:52:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 7,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7333927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowoftheLamp/pseuds/ShadowoftheLamp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Generator Rex Season 3 AU- Collared Rex. </p><p>What if Caesar had planned for Rex's resistance, and made him a special collar? </p><p>And what if, at first, it didn't seem like a problem?</p><p>Reality has a funny way of not being what you want it to.</p><p>CHAPTER 4 ADDED, I'D FORGOTTEN IT BEFORE SINCE THIS IS BEING CROSSPOSTED FROM TUMBLR</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Reinvention

Caesar ran his fingers along the black collar.

Rex had only been back for a day, but they needed a back-up plan in case he didn’t agree with Providence’s new direction.

He’d always liked his job, and may feel useless due to the lack of a need for EVO cures. Still, he may agree to return to being a field agent and helping wrangle the EVOs until the others could help restrain them.

Caesar had made Rex’s collar as soon as they’d perfected the regular ones. Rex likely would be able to break out of the normal collars, due to his technological abilities, so this one could be controlled only by vocal commands from him or Black Knight, or a remote that could be given to whoever commanded his squadron.

Caesar really hoped it wouldn’t come to that, though. Rex wasn’t like other EVOs- he was fully sentient, basically a person. It would be logical to use the collar if he resisted, but his gut still twinged a bit at the thought.

_________

Rex didn’t like Providence’s new direction. They had to sedate him from behind while Caesar had aimed the control gun at him.

“Pity. He would have been just as useful by himself.” Black Knight nudged her toe against Rex’s cheek. “Caesar?”

Caesar pulled the collar out of the cabinet and clicked it around Rex’s neck.

“He’ll wake up normally, but he may require some training to be able to still think on his feet while under the collar’s control.”

“Whatever it takes.” Black Knight swept out of the room, and Caesar picked up his little brother whose mouth was lolling slightly open to reveal teeth a shade too sharp. He was doing the right thing. Rex would agree soon.

_________

Rex woke up in his old room. No, wait, his old room had been demolished to make a bathroom. A really cool bathroom, but still a bathroom. So…?

The old posters were missing, but otherwise it looked the same. His red ball was even sitting neatly on the desk

Ugh, what happened to his neck? It felt heavy, like-

Rex bolted up, racing over to the mirror. No. No, this wasn’t happening, Caesar wouldn’t-

It didn’t look like the other EVO’s collars. His was heavier-looking, not to mention black to their white. Trying to deactivate it had no result, almost like there wasn’t anything inside it.

“Good morning, hermano.” Rex whirled around to see Caesar leaning against the door frame.

“Caesar-” Caesar was good. Listen to Caesar. Nothing bad can happen around him. “Good morning.”

“Did you sleep well?”

“Did you?”

“Sí. But I was asking you.” Caesar’s tone was light. Rex couldn’t remember why he’d been mad a moment before. Had he been mad? There was no reason to be.

“Yeah, I slept fine.” He smiled. He was with Caesar. Things were good.

“How is he?” Black Knight walked up behind Caesar, and Rex stiffened.

Black Knight. She’d forced all those EVOs-

Given them a home. Helped them calm down. She was good too. As good as his brother.

“I’m fine, thank you.” Rex nodded to her respectfully. A sly smile quirked up the end of her lips. She ruffled his hair.

“Good. You’re to report to training room three after breakfast.”

“Right.”

“I’m glad we’ll get to work together.” Her boots clicked as she walked down the hall.

“She’s pleasant.” Rex said, and Caesar ruffled Rex’s hair further. It was surprisingly soft- almost like a puppy’s fur.

“Welcome home.”


	2. Retrained

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things seem fine... on the surface.

“All right, just take out the threat.” Caesar called over the intercom. Rex nodded.

“Got it.” Rex tugged down his goggles, looking up at the EVO. 

This was one of the uncollared ones. They needed a test, to make sure he wouldn’t go easy on it.

Rex didn’t disappoint. Caesar had seen Rex directly in battle only a handful of times- usually it was over a screen. It never got any less astounding. Six had trained him well. 

The practice EVO was a typical type- no spitting fire or acid. Just a big lump of lumbering meat. Rex aimed for the legs first with his sword, knocking it onto its back before setting a hand on its chest. Blue lines spread across its body and it collapsed back into a teenage boy, who Rex helped to his feet.

“Remember, Rex. If you can’t cure, it goes to us. ” Black Knight said.

“Bu-” Rex twitched, and his eyes flashed white for half a second before he threw up a smile. A weak smile, but a smile nonetheless. “Right. No prob.”

“It will take a while to adjust, I’m sure. but this is better, hermano.” Caesar said, leaning against the control panel. “We’ll escort the young man out. You’re excused for lunch.”

Rex gave him a thumbs-up.  
____________  
Rex ate like he hadn’t in six months- not surprising, considering his body was probably still  trying to play catch-up with the proper time. Besides, he’d often been like that before- the large number of nanites in his body seemed to demand more energy than a normal person would.

“So, anything on Six or Holiday?” Rex asked, taking a swig of soda.

“Not yet, but I’m sure there will be news soon.” Caesar said, sipping his water.  "They’ll want to know you’re back, and I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you.“

"Well, the doc will. I’ll be lucky for Six to crack a smile.”

“Oh, he cares about you too, _mijo_.” Caesar said, gently hitting Rex’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m just saying it’ll be a miracle if he shows it.” Rex smiled. “So, what else is on the schedule for today?”

“Just a short medical evaluation to make sure there aren’t any lasting effects from Breach’s time portal. Then, it’s back into the field." 

"Sweet!” He paused. “Black Knight- she’s pretty cool, huh?”

“Absolutely. It’s because of her the new program has taken off. I’m glad you agree!”

Flash of white eyes. “What else would I think?”

Boundaries. Just setting boundaries to stop future friction. Some of the other employees had to be laid off, and if they could keep Rex closer, so much the better for everyone. Really, a small part of Caesar wished they could collar anyone who was too rebellious. Things would be so much simpler.


	3. Reintroduction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's where things start getting fun.

“Hey, hulk! Where’s the purple pants?” Rex dodged a heavy punch from the muscular green EVO who did have an uncanny resemblance to the comic book character,  except with four extra arms.

The EVO just roared, spittle spraying Rex and several Providence agents who were unlucky enough to be within range. They hammered the beast with bullets while Rex smashed a hand on the ground, tipping the concrete up like a see-saw and toppling the creature on its face. Rex set a hand on its neck before it managed to get up, but the blue cure lines didn’t spread far.

“Sorry, Knight. Uncurable.”

“ _Understood. Subdue it fully, and we’ll take it from here._ " 

"Got it.” Rex switched on his rockets, then flipped a mental switch to send ropes across the EVO. It writhed angrily, and Rex dropped in front of it before hitting the back of the head to knock it out. “It’s out." 

"Thank you!” Rex turned to see a little blonde girl in a jean dress rushing up to him, and before he could step back, she’d jumped up to hug him. “It almost got my house!”

“Hey, it’s my job, kiddo.” He ruffled her hair with a smile, and she hugged him tighter before freezing.

“Isn’t that one'a those collars? For the bad ones?” To emphasize, she pointed at the creature that he’d knocked out- they were just collaring it.

Rex tugged down his coat collar to show her it better. “Well, it’s just in case anything goes wrong on a mission. It’s not even on. I’m here to help you guys, no matter what.” He smiled. “Providence always knows what’s best.”

She smiled back. “Okay! Thanks again!” She dug around in her dress pocket, handing him a piece of candy. “Wanna caramel?”

“Sure!” He took it and popped it in his mouth, rolling it on his tongue for a moment before adding, “Thanks!”

“Annabeth, get back here!” A blonde woman ran up to the girl (Annabeth, it seemed) and grabbed her wrist. “Don’t bother-” Her eyes ran up him to his neck, and she tightened her grip on Annabeth. “Come on. We’re going.”

“Bye-bye, mister!”

Rex waved. For a second, the collar felt heavier, but when he ran his fingers over it something changed and he didn’t mind at all.

The caramel was sweet.


	4. Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to add this chapter here, oops. Holiday returns.

They found Holiday. Or rather, she found them. She showed up at the door four days after Rex had returned.

  
“What happened to Agent Six?” Black Knight asked. She’d called in Rex to meet the doctor again, and the three of them were seated in her office.

  
“I don’t know. We split up two months ago, and I haven’t heard from him since.” Holiday said. “For all I know, he’s gone EVO. As soon as I heard Rex was back-”

  
“-You wanted to come back too. Completely understandable. There’s still a place for you here, doctor.” Black Knight held out a hand with a smile, and Holiday hesitated only for a moment before taking it. “Welcome back.”

  
“Yeah, doc, everything that’s changed has been for the better. Did you see the bathroom they made out of my old room?” Rex grinned. “Too bad about White, but guess he needed me more than he thought.”

  
Rex didn’t get why Holiday’s eyes looked so hurt. Maybe she was closer to White than he’d thought. Oh well. People adjusted. People were adaptable. They’d been halfway to the apocalypse for the last six years, and people were used to it now. Holiday would be herself before long.

  
_____________________

  
“So, give me the grand tour. What’s changed?” Holiday asked Rex. “Besides the management, that is.”

  
“Well, Caesar created these cool collars so we can keep the EVOs in check- the dangerous ones, that is.” He tapped his own. “Guess they figure I needed one just in case. Not that I’d do anything stupid.” He paused. “Well, anything stupid against Providence.”

  
“They collared you? Rex-” She set her hands on his shoulders, but he brushed her away.

  
“Relax, doc, I don’t think it’s even on. Caesar said it’s a precaution, and I trust him."

  
Why was she looking at him like that? Like… like she felt sorry for him. She hadn’t looked at him like that since they’d first met, and he’d revealed his amnesia.

  
"Look, it’s fine. Some stuff’s changed around here, but I’m fine. I’m the same.” He paused again. “Can you stop looking at me like that? Sheesh, I feel like it’s somebody’s funeral.”

  
“ _Rex, we need you._ ”

  
Rex set a hand on his earpiece. “I really want to talk to the doc, can’t you stall for-”

  
Flash of white.

  
“Okay, I’m on my way.” He turned to Holiday. “Sorry, the tour will have to wait. Duty calls.”

  
There it was again. That pitying look. This time, though, her fists were clenched, and she sucked in a deep breath.

  
“I’ll see you soon, Rex. Be careful.”’

  
He flashed her a smile. “Aren’t I always?”


	5. Rewired

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caesar starts realizing things aren’t as perfect in reality as they are on paper.

Caesar quickly figured out it was easy to misuse Rex’s collar. Sometimes it didn’t matter- like reminding him to drink more water, or make his bed. Sometimes, though…

“Rex, be quiet.” Caesar said absently. Rex had been going on and on about that particular mission, and his voice was starting to break through Caesar’s concentration. Rex had immediately shut up.

It took a full five minutes for Caesar to realize Rex didn’t start talking again. He turned around to see Rex biting his lip, eyes wide. “Oh, sorry. Rex, you can start talking again, I just needed to focus for a minute there." 

"Actually, I’m gonna go join Bobo’s tai chi. Later.” Rex waved before he shivered, eyes closed. “Sorry, what did you say? Kinda fuzzed out for a second.”

“You were going to go to tai chi.”

“Oh, right! Thanks.” Rex’s wave was a lot more enthusiastic.

Caesar could pretend he hadn’t seen the collar spark slightly.

_________________

“Hey, brainboy.” Caesar rolled over, jabbing the intercom button.

“What is it, Bobo?”

“Rex isn’t sleeping right. You needta come fix him, before I decide to knock him out.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Caesar rolled over, tugging on a jacket before heading down to Rex’s room. Maybe something was off about the collar? He’d performed well on the mission that day…

“Hgggh… no!” The door creaked open as Caesar walked in. Bobo was sitting on the couch, arms folded, in a quite frankly hideous pair of yellow pajamas. Rex, meanwhile, was rolling around on the bed, tangled in the blanket and slick with sweat, muttering loudly. 

“Rex. Rex! Wake up!”  

“Protocol enabled abort abort don’t want don’t want don’t… no!” Rex shot up, eyes wide and chest heaving. 

“Rex, are you all right?”

Rex turned to look at his brother, and his eyes narrowed for a moment.

“You… you…!" 

White eyes, and the tension melted from his body. "What are you doing here, bro? You need beauty rest as much as I do.”

Caesar turned to look at Bobo. “Has this been happening often?”

“Yeah, the kid’s gone a little nuts in his sleep a few times, but this was the first time he was talking.” Bobo paused, opening his mouth again, but then thought better of it.

Or rather, his collar told him to.

Caesar had known there would be side effects, of course. But seeing his little brother having nightmares first-hand was different from data on a table. 

“What was that dream about?”

“I don’t remember, why?”

Caesar sucked in a breath. “I order you to tell me, hermano.”

Rex stiffened, voice going flat, and he shook slightly. “I was helping Six, like any  of our old missions. Sand worm EVO. We took it down, but I couldn’t cure it. Six shocked me with a taser then collared me and made me watch as he killed it. It turned into a little girl. She was bleeding. I couldn’t stop it. He turned into you and made me finish  the job. You told me I did a good job but she was still crying.”

Caesar’s breath caught in his throat. “Forget that.”

“Forget what?” Rex’s voice was still chillingly blank- it was so devoid of the dips and personality that made him Rex. 

“That dream, and me coming in here.”

“Caesar-” Rex shuddered from an invisible shock, before nodding slowly. "Forgotten.“

"Go back to sleep." 

Rex yawned before laying back down, and Bobo watched silently from the couch. 

"Gonna need a lot more than that to fix him.”

“Things will work out fine.” Caesar insisted, and he locked the door when he left.

The next morning, Rex reported for duty as eagerly as ever, but for the first time Caesar noticed the bags under his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments highly welcomed!


	6. Reverses

Rex liked his job. It still felt great to know that he was helping people, and curing EVOs to give them back normal lives.

Rex hated his job. He’d rather they kill the uncurables than force them into being pets or circus animals. Non-sentient EVOs weren’t meant to be tamed. It went against their very nature- they were the feral, destructive instincts locked deep inside of every creature, human or otherwise. He knew better than anyone that humans were just as animalistic as any beast when it came down to it. Civilians had stopped talking to him, the thing on his neck a danger sign.

Rex liked Dr. Holiday. She was still kind to him, and had been decided to be his usual doctor as she had been before. Occasionally she was helped by other doctors, but she was the comforting voice in his earpiece whenever his bios were low. Her eyes were a bit sadder than before, but she still smiled for him.

Rex hated Dr. Holiday. She reminded him of Six, who was either dead or had abandoned him. He’d seen a green blur finishing off the EVOs Providence didn’t get to, so he knew it was the latter and it burned at him like a wildfire. She pitied him and acted like he was a delicate child and he both did and didn’t know why.

Rex liked Caesar. Caesar made him smile and ruffled his hair and snuck him an extra cookie after particularly successful missions. His accent and slips into Spanish felt like the home he hadn’t had since before the timejump. He’d pull Rex aside with a fact about their parents or his past and it melted his chest like molten gold.

Rex hated Caesar. He was supposed to be his brother; the one who protected him. He wasn’t there the first five years, and now that he had the chance to make up for it he used him like a tool. He wasn’t a brother, he was a master, a puppeteer who didn’t care that the only time Rex could be himself was in his nightmares. 

Rex liked Black Knight. She was smart, and gave him much more freedom than White ever had. More credit for his combat knowledge, too. She was kind and pretty and just good.

Rex loathed Black Knight. Whether she or her brother had started the new program, he hated it with every fiber of his being. She was too smug, too violence-happy, too eager to resort to control over understanding. More than once Holiday had been forced to back down with a suggestion, and he’d had to stand there like a nodding bobblehead agreeing blindly with whatever Black Knight said because she was his prized pet, the EVO who still had the illusion of free will to everyone but himself.


	7. Reconsideration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Caesar begins to realize that He Fucked Up

It slipped out too easily, and the simple requests slid out of hand.

“Rex, hand me the notes on the shelf.”

“Rex, go grab us both some water, okay?”

“Rex, I’ll need you after the mission.”

“Rex, did you see anything suspicious, or against protocol?”

“Will you mind staying behind for a few tests?”

“I need a large blood sample. Can you do it for me? I’m pretty busy.”

“Would you mind finishing up for me? I know you can do it.”

Every time, it was a nod, a smile, agreement. Never a question or doubt.

It was five am, and Caesar was heading into the lab early. The light was on.  
He opened the door slowly to see Rex biting the end of a pen, eyebrows furrowed and stomach growling loudly enough Caesar could hear it fifteen feet away.

“What are you doing in here so early, _mijo_? I appreciate you’re taking an interest in the scientific side of things here, but-”

“You told me to.” Rex grinned weakly. “You said to finish the work, remember?”

“I just meant the one we’d worked on together, not-” Caesar ran over to see his entire desk covered in sheets covered in problems he’d been hoping to figure out himself. “You’ve been up all night?”

“I wasn’t sure when you wanted me to stop.” Rex moved to rub his eyes and almost jabbed the pen in his eye. Caesar grabbed it, setting it down. 

“You’re going to bed.”

“There’s a morning mission, not really any point in-”

“No, I’ll tell Knight you’re skipping this one. You’re going to bed.”

“Yes, sir." 

There wasn’t the teasing tone that Rex used to have whenever he’d called Caesar any sort of authoritative term before. There was only the quick snap of a soldier obeying their superior.

Caesar watched Rex stand up, unsteady as a fawn, then shake his head quickly and walk out.

He sat down and looked at the notes, sorting their rough timeline by how neat Rex’s handwriting was. The first ten or so were nearly if not completely perfect, but by the time he reached the recent ones, Rex had clearly been sleep-deprived and scribbled down seemingly random equations, probably just to keep going.

He’d put down notes in the margins, and the early ones related to the work being done, but the later ones…

 _its me_  
_im me_  
 _not him not him_  
 _help_  
 _helphelphelp_  
 _stuck_  
 _cant help_  
 _dontwant do n twa nt_

"They must have been from his subconscious, considering he didn’t seem to be fully awake while writing them.” Caesar muttered to himself, and it took a moment to sink in.

Rex wanted help. He’d stayed up all night without even asking if that’s what he’d been told, assuming that he’d been assigned to finish work that would have taken Caesar a week.

Did he really think that Caesar would be that needlessly cruel?


	8. Rethinking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caesar takes action. Sort of.

Caesar found the camera that was in Rex’s room. All he’d had to do was ask the agent in charge of surveillance, luckily.

He skimmed through the nights since Rex had returned- about three months worth. About half nothing happened, a quarter he only went to bed past midnight (he’d have to ask Knight about downgrading the night missions, Rex still needed sleep after all) and the last quarter…

Well. The chimp hadn’t been kidding about Rex ‘going nuts in his sleep’. He rolled around, clenched his blankets, and seemed to scream out, although the videos had no audio.

As the dates neared the present, the night attacks happened more and more.

________________

“Rex, come to testing room _tres, por favor_.”

“Right away." 

Caesar was waiting on a stool with a clipboard and a comfortable chair for Rex, who just waited at the door. "Sit down, _hermano_.”

“Right.” Rex sat down.

“This is just a simple questionnaire, Rex. It shouldn’t take long. First up, are you happy here?”

“Of course!" 

"Would you change anything?”

“Nope!”

“Are you happy with your living arrangements?”

“Yep.”

“Anything bothering you at all?”

There- a pause, and a slight twitch before he vigorously shook his head.

“Nope.”

Caesar set the clipboard down. “Rex, get rid of the camera in the corner.”

“Bro?”

“Do it.”

Rex did. 

The temperature in the room seemed to drop when Caesar took a deep breath. “If I told you I could deactivate your collar, would you like that?”

Rex’s eyes widened. His entire body froze, and he opened his mouth, than closed it. He tensed, than relaxed, and stopped breathing for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, he answered.

“It doesn’t seem like a good idea to me, especially without Black Knight’s permission, but… I’ll like whatever you want, bro.”

The way he said 'bro’ rubbed Caesar the wrong way- it was stated with the same respectful tone that he said 'sir’ or ’m'am’. Like it wasn’t a term of endearment, but an official title.

He’d run the simulators. It was entirely possible they’d have to entirely reprogram Rex’s collar and start from square one if he did this.

But then, the Rex in front of him wasn’t his brother. Not even close.

“Caesar Salazar, voice command authorization. Collar Beta zero zero two, disengage." 

The first thing Rex did with the return of his complete freedom was suck in a deep breath.

The second thing he did was lunge at Caesar. 

"Do you have any idea what you…? What _she_ …?” His dark eyes were swirled with silver, nanites instinctively flowing to protect their host, and Caesar found his breathing a bit restricted by the palm of Rex’s smack hands pressed against his throat. “You’re supposed to be my brother, but…! But…!" 

"Rex, I didn’t know…!”

“You damn well did!” Rex’s hand pressed down further, and Caesar gagged for a moment. “Do you know what it’s like to be trapped in your own head for _months_ , knowing-”

“Hey, man, you okay in there?" 

It was just a soldier. 

But the soldiers could easily report to Black Knight.

Caesar coughed. "I’m sorry, _mijo_ … Collar Beta zero zero two, re-engage." 

The withering glare Rex gave his brother could have melted solid steel, but it took only a second for the collar to push Rex away from Caesar, and another three to fully re-engage its control.

"Rex, don’t tell anyone what just happened." 

"Got it.” Rex nodded.

His eyes were as blank as a doll’s.


	9. Retreat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, two chapters in two days. Go me. I'm fiddling a lot with the next chapter, though, but please tell me what you thought of these two!

Caesar needed to get Rex out.

The only problem was, it would obviously be him.

Only he and Black Knight could turn off Rex's collar, and he couldn't escape with it on. All Knight would have to do is call him and he'd be forced to return.  
So they'd have to escape together, and invoke her wrath. He'd seen what happened to people who pushed her boundaries too far. They tended to end up fed to EVOs in the Petting Zoo.

He'd have to hope she trusted him enough to get away with the simplest escape plan in history.

The front door.

"We're going to visit family in Mexico City. It'll just be two days, and I think Rex has earned a vacation." Caesar smiled widely, hoping his cheeks didn't look as strained as they felt.

"Of course. I would have suggested it myself if I didn't secretly hope you were a robot who never needed a break." Black Knight smiled warmly back. "Joking, joking. I'll look forward to pictures when you return."

"I'll have to leave that to Rex- mine always turn out blurry." Caesar nodded. " _Gracias_."

" _De nada_."  


____________________  


"We're leaving." Caesar told Rex, who blinked.

"Oh, lunch out? I call Mexican."

"No, leaving Providence."

Rex stared for a moment. "Leaving... Providence?" The word lilted up in surprise, and his eyes widened. "Black Knight-"

"Thinks we're going on vacation."

"She'd never agree. I'm calling her right now." Rex's eyes narrowed and he set a hand on his ear, that Caesar grabbed.

"No, you're not. Do not call her."

"But this... we can't...!" Rex's right eye twitched, and his mouth gaped open for a moment. "Can't... she... rules...!"

"I am leaving and I'm taking you with me. You are to tell no one." Caesar sucked in a deep breath. "That's a direct order."

There wasn't even a flash of white in Rex's eyes this time. Caesar hoped that didn't mean his brother was beyond reprogramming.

_________________________

"Turn off the cameras."  Caesar said to Rex while Dr. Holiday watched.

"Right." Rex nodded obediently, setting a hand on the wall, blue lines spreading across the entire lab as each camera turned off one by one.  

"What's this about?" Holiday had her arms folded, and Caesar paused.

Telling her meant that he wasn't turning back. They could go visit family. They could come back and have nothing change.

He could leave Rex trapped in his own head.

"We’re leaving. Are you staying here or coming with us?"

Her eyes widened. "You're..."

"Leaving. Black Knight thinks we're going on vacation, and that's where I sent the signal for Rex's tracker. By the time she figures it out, I plan to be gone. This is your chance to get out before she comes after you for helping us escape. You can take us to Agent Six. I know you're still in contact with him."  

Holiday turned to Rex. "Is he serious?"

"Seems to be. Why he wants to leave is beyond me, though." His eye twitched, and the doctor returned her gaze to Caesar. 

"I know all the escape routes. I'm sure a few survived the rebuilding. However, if you're trying to trick me into something, rest assured that I have ways to make you regret it."

Her eyes were cold steel, and Caesar didn't doubt she was telling the truth.


	10. Reunited

It was easier than he’d hoped. They took off in his lab, in which all tracking equipment had been found and disabled by Rex. Holiday met them in a small town over fifty miles away, along with…

“Six!” Rex ran up. “Oh man, I’ve missed you so much!”

“Have you now?” Still, a small smile spread across Six’s face. “Good to see you again too, kid.”

Rex’s face fell a little. “Although, why did you never come see me?”

“It’s a long story.” Six ruffled Rex’s hair. “I’ll share later, back at the base.”

“Base? Caesar said that we were…” Rex turned to Caesar. “Why did you want to leave? You wouldn’t tell me.”

“Yes, why did you leave only now?” Holiday crossed her arms.

Caesar closed his eyes for a moment, taking a breath.

“Because _yo chinago tú sobre_.”

“Caesar!” Rex grinned at the curse. “Never thought I’d hear you-”

“Caesar Salazar, voice command authorization. Collar Beta zero zero two…” He took a deep breath.  "…Disengage.“

Rex lunged, pinning his brother down, fire burning in his eyes. "I swear to god, I… I…” He stared down at Caesar, the side of his sword pressed against his throat, before his eyes widened. “You… you…”

“Got you out, _hermano_.” Caesar said quietly. “ _Tú tenía razón_.”

Rex slowly pulled up his head. Holiday had her hands over her mouth, eyes wide, and Six had his swords out. To help whom was up in the air.

“You… got me out?” Rex’s voice caught in his throat.

“ _Sí_.”

“But… you…” Slowly, Rex stood up, sword receding into his arm. “Not that I don’t appreciate it, but why? Why now?”

“I didn’t realize how badly we’d be controlling you, and how badly you’d react.” Caesar set a hand on Rex’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

Rex looked at the hand for a moment, before brushing it off.

“If you were sorry, you would have realized that three months ago. ” He said quietly, before turning his back to his brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rough translations for the spanish are 'I fucked up' and 'you were right'. If I got it wrong, feel free to correct me.
> 
> As always, reviews super appreciated!


	11. Reorienting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life goes on, as they start trying to adjust to the Plant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had no idea the building they lived in in season 3 was called the plant. The things you learn while trying to do fic research.

Caesar knew Rex was angry. Of course he was- he'd nearly killed him twice in the last week because of it.

However, he didn't realize how much it would hurt.

Rex talked. A lot. To Six, to Holiday, to Bobo, to the TV when his soap was on.

He didn't, however, talk to him.

When Caesar walked into the kitchen for breakfast, conversation quieted. When Rex walked into the lab when Caesar was working, he turned on his heels and left. Caesar watched him go in the tilted reflection of the computer screen.

He could stand a tantrum. Rex had thrown quite a few when he didn't think he was getting enough attention, back when he was a child.

Silence, though? That stung like anaseptic in an open wound. 

Holiday spoke to him only in short sentences, her ire obvious once they were out of Black Knight's watchful eyes. Six spoke a bit more, but then, his words were carefully crafted to dig information about New Providence.

He wanted to talk to his brother, now that he hadn't realized he hadn't been. The collar didn't work on him like it did on the other Evos. They were animals. He was a person, and it had snuck around the edges, making him a puppet. He hadn't been retrained, he'd been rewritten, but in a way that made it seem like things were fine.

That would effect anyone.

Caesar knew there was something wrong, and Rex was trying to hide it. From Holiday, from Six, from Bobo. From him too, but Caesar had been watching him for past three months, and the months before his time skip.

Rex had always been a talker, but now, he refused to leave even a moment of pause in a conversation. He repeated himself, said the same jokes two, three, four times.

He fidgeted constantly as well, running his fingers over his rubber ball, a grandola bar, and his thighs, fisting the fabric and bunching up and releasing it constantly.

He spent time in the lab, but checked the computers and security cameras as often as possible. He brushed it off, but he was watching. Waiting.

It couldn't help that they couldn't get the collar off without possibly seriously injuring Rex. 

Rex in the collar hadn't been his brother, but this Rex, this paranoid fidgeting mess... he wasn't his brother either.

_________

"Rex has been-" Caesar started, but Holiday simply held up a hand.

"He's been a living puppet for three months, mostly thanks to you. He needs time, and if you push him, he's going to hate you more than he already does. Let us deal with it."

"He's my little brother! I didn't realize-"

She turned, eyes narrowed.

"You treated him like an animal. I've been working with him for two years, and I could see that he was hurting every moment he spent with me. He's not ten years old anymore, Caesar. You can't assume you know best. You weren't treating him like he mattered, you were using him as a tool." She turned back. "He'll talk to you when he's ready. Until then, you deserve his silence."

Caesar opened his mouth to protest.

_“You’re supposed to be my brother, but…! But…!"_

He slowly closed it and sighed.

"My apologies."

Holiday didn't reply. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Caesar deserves it for what he's done but I almost feel bad for him. Maybe I'll write a brother bonding one shot. 
> 
> Comments and reviews super appreciated!


	12. Recoil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noah sees Rex for the first time in a while.

Noah practically knocked the door in two days after the Salazar brothers arrived. It was while they were getting breakfast. Or, to be specific, Caesar was sitting at the table with his hands around a cup of tea while Rex was leaning on the counter, back to his brother, and waiting for the toaster to pop up.    

“Rex!” He pulled Rex into a hug that would have crushed his ribs if not for his EVO status. “Oh man I can’t believe it’s you and you’re okay and-” Noah pulled back slightly, staring at Rex’s neck. “Oh. Oh my god."   

"Yeah, they… we can’t get it off without screwing up me or my nanites. Bold fashion choice, isn’t it?"   

Noah set his fingertips on the collar. "Are you okay, man? I mean… geez. I tried to get in, but-"   

"I know, Black Knight kept you out.” Rex rubbed the back of his head. “And she told me that it wasn’t a good idea to keep talking to you, since it might put you in danger."   

She hadn’t told Caesar that. He’d just assumed that Rex was too busy.    
"Rex, being anywhere within a mile radius of you is dangerous, but that’s never stopped me before. You’re my best friend.” He held up a fist, and Rex bumped it with a smile.    

Then, Noah turned to Caesar.    

“And you! You let it happen? What the hell, man? You should have known better, you’re, like… thirty!”  

“Twenty-three,” Caesar said, blinking. “I didn’t realize that Rex felt so awful. I would have stopped her much-" 

"It was _your_ collar.” Rex snapped suddenly. “I saw the blueprints on your desk in the main lab."   

Noah stared at Caesar. "I repeat. What the _hell_ , man?"   

"I didn’t realize-"   

"You’re a genius, bro,” Rex said bitterly. “You realized, you just rationalized it away. It won’t be that bad, it’ll just make him behave. Make him listen. Make him do _everything we say_.” His voice dropped, and his nose wrinkled up.   

Was he- was he trying not to cry?   

“C'mon, dude, let’s go shoot some hoops. I saw a court on the other side of this place.” Noah grabbed Rex’s arm and pulled him in the direction of the door.    

Caesar watched them as they vanished through the door, then looked down at the tea that was rapidly cooling under his hands.    

How could he have been so blind?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m running out of chapter title ideas…
> 
> Just one more ‘mopey’ chapter after this!
> 
> Your comments and reviews are super appreciated!


	13. Replanning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gaaaah I had this mostly done for a few months but hadn't polished it up. Back to the plot. Comments super duper appreciated!

It did not take Black Knight the full two days to figure out that they’d left.

Their trackers had been disabled, and the signal from Rex’s collar had been muted as well, on top of the fact that Dr. Holiday was missing… Caesar had turned traitor.

What a shame.

She’d liked working with him. He was eccentric and creative, if scatterbrained and unempathetic. (That, at least, had worked to her advantage.)

Unfortunately, she needed him to complete the Meta-Nanite project. 

Needed him by any means necessary. And losing Rex when he’d been clearly collared could frighten the public.

There were certainly a few ways to go about this. Sending tracker EVOs would work, but there was no assurance that he’d come quietly, or work for Providence again at all.

Attempting to rewrite Rex’s collar once their location was discovered was also possible, but Caesar had created the collars. He could likely undo anything she could do.

Which left one option.

Blackmail. Emotional blackmail. Take Rex, break him into a mindless puppet. She’d left him too much free will to create the illusion that he’d been smart enough to not need to be bent to her standards.

If Caesar was going to abandon all his hard work over his brother, she’d make sure that Rex would be the reason he came back.

She needed to make an example of them.

“Black Knight to lab unit two. Scan the area within three hundred miles for Rex and Caesar’s biosignatures. Pawn sectors five and six, follow any lead for the whereabouts of former agent Six, or Rex. They may still be attempting to contain or cure. Report all findings back to me.”

A chorus of ‘yes m'am’s’ and 'right away, Black Knight’s’ chimed in her earpiece, and she smiled.

She’d get them back. One way or another.


	14. Remarking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been done forever, idk why I haven't posted it yet, whoopsies.

"Do you happen to have any tungsten?" Caesar asked, holding out an arm, and Holiday tapped his finger.

"Sorry, no."

"You're going to have to get used to what we do have," White Knight leaned against the doorframe. "Considering all the funding is still with Providence."

"Yes, well, I am aware of that." Caesar tapped a wrench against his arm. "Although-"

"Holiday!" Rex slammed the door on the other side of the room open, eyes wide.

"Rex, what is it?" Holiday ran over.

Oh. Oh _no_.

The collar was lit up like a Christmas tree, red lights pulsing. It didn't seem to be hurting Rex, but his pupils were shrunk to the size of pinheads, and both hands were firmly wrapped around it, blue lines crisscrossing the veins.

"It- it just turned back on, it's warm and-"

"It's a tracking signal. I thought I disabled it, but Black Knight must have used some sort of override once she figured out a small enough radius of our current location." Caesar sucked in a deep breath. "She'll have the pawns on us within the day. We need to set up defenses."

"I'll get Six." White said, turning and heading out.

"Can she... turn it back on?" Rex's voice almost squeaked.

"I'll try to disable it permanently, but it may take time. I designed plenty of failsafes so you wouldnt be able to use your powers, Rex."

"Fantastic." Rex muttered, before turning to Holiday. "You can do it, can't you? Let Caesar work on the weapons."

"Unfortunately... he knows much more about the collars than I do. I was still monitoring your body and nanites, not how it-"

"But you're, like, a genius!"

Holiday set a hand on Rex's shoulder. "I know you don't like it. But it would take time to figure things out, time we don't have." She turned to Caesar, hand moving from Rex's shoulder to gripping a handful of Caesar's shirt collar. "If you harm so much as a hair on his head, then by the time Black Knight gets here you'll be a smear on the floor, got it?"

Caesar swallowed. "Got it."


	15. Reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caesar gets some truths from Rex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote Rex's dialouge like five times and this is probably the happiest I'll be with it.

Caesar tugged up his sleeves while heading to the lab.

Rex, trailing behind, had his rolled all the way down. They didn't quite reach the bottom of his gloves. At some point he'd seen a growth spurt- that, or Rex was just bad at doing laundry since it was his turn last.

"Up you go." Caesar waved at the table, and Rex sucked in a breath before obeying.

"You're not going to make it-"

"Relax, hermano, I'm helping you."

"Yeah. Right. Helping. Helping. Sure seemed like it." Rex wiggled and kept fiddling with his sleeves as Caesar rummaged through the toolbox. "There's not even any- I've- why did you make this thing so strong?"

"I told you. I was making sure you couldn't destroy it. That would be counterproductive." Caesar held up what looked like a tiny wrench, and after flicking a switch on the side, sparks of electricity started jumping between the two points.

"Oh, no. No, no, no." Rex's eyes widened. "You're not putting that on my neck."

Caesar sighed. "Rex, if you want the collar deactivated, you'll need to cooperate."

Rex bit his lip, eyes narrowing,

Caesar stepped forward, setting a hand on the collar itself. "Do you want me to turn it back on to make you stay still to let me work? I'd prefer not to, but-"

"No!" Rex snapped, entire body tensing up. "I just don't want you- you-"

"I'm all you have. I know you're mad at me. But-"

"Get it over with." Rex squeezed his eyes shut and turned his face away. Caesar sighed, and placed the electric wrench between his teeth as he hooked his index finger under the collar to try and reach the tiny scanner inside.

"Is'a wndr, ynnew" Caesar mumbled.

"What?"

Taking out the wrench, Caesar set it against the outside of the collar, giving one short shock. The hair on the back of Rex's neck stood up. "It's a wonder, you know. You've survived so much the past six years, with minimal damage, all things considered." He paused. "But you're different now. You talk differently, move differently."

"I'm not a kid anymore, and if you're-"

"No, differently from before the time jump."

"I wonder why." Venom soaked every syllable.

"You were still joking and acting like yourself. I didn't realize how severe the phsycological repercussions would-"

"Didn't realize? Caesar, do you know why I joke all the time?"

Caesar's fingers tightened around his screwdriver. "I assumed it was your personality. You were similar before the Event."

"Yeah, that's part of it, sure, but it's... what did Holiday call it? Compartmentalization? I have to pretend everything's okay, or I'm going to freak out. _Freak out_. In combat I saw injuries and deaths and heard people's last words but couldn't focus on them because I had to help others when evacuation warnings came too late." His words were spilling out on top of each other.

"Destroyed buildings and broken people, even when they know it could happen it never seems real, that your daughter is trying to rip out your throat and... and... and she's an incurable and now she's being paraded around on a leash like a show pony beacause of the damn collar since she's one of the pretty ones, worthy of 'saving' by prolonging misery. I'm sixteen years old, I don't have a driver's license, and most of my time was spent fighting things that wanted to kill me. Caesar, half the world saw me as a monster, and the other half just a weapon." He laughed bitterly. "I guess I thought you'd be one of the exceptions."

"I'm sorry." What else was there to say?

"Just turn this stupid thing off. We'll fight off Providence, and you can stop pretending to care."

At that, Caesar's heart nearly stopped.

"Rex, I'm not pretending! You're my brother!"

"Did a damn good job of showing it." Rex let out a strained laugh that morphed into muffled sobs that he tried to viciously wipe away. "D'ya think Mom and Dad'd be proud? The EVO and the mad scientist."

"I..." Caesar sighed. "I don't know."

After that, there was only the sound of the computer humming and twin sets of breathing, and neither said anything about the tears running down Rex's cheeks and onto Caesar's fingers as he worked.


End file.
